Walk in Peace

Our modern daily lifestyle is surrounded by hurdles and pressures that threaten to destroy our peace and harmony at every turn.  To survive this maelstrom we each have some sort of mechanism to tackle these stressors... it's almost a game of whack a mole at times.  So, my question today is...  What centers you?

"Peace.  It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.  It means to be in the midst of those things and still have calm in your heart." unknown

A portion of my career changed two years ago.  I went from a non-traditional role to Dolly Parton's 9-5 office environment.  In my old role, I knew that if someone was affecting my well-being, they'd be gone in an hour and I would probably never see them again.  In an office environment it is virtually impossible to escape a coworker that has a malignant life energy.  You know what I am talking about.  We all have experiences with negative Nellies in our world.

I try to set the stage for tranquility the moment I walk into my office.  The door closes, a candle is lit, smooth R&B softly plays from my echo dot as I take a sip of coffee and start to sift through the myriad of emails that have come in overnight.  Somewhere along the way last year that routine wasn't enough.   I needed more powerful protections for my sanity.  I had a few coworkers, now gone, that were causing strife in the office.  I decided to bring in a large tower of Selenite - a crystal thats superpower is to bring balance, clarity and calm and helps to release negativity.  That's the story at least.  Panacea maybe but there are days where I rub that crystal in desperate attempt to find the calm I'm not feeling.  Funny enough, I was introduced to this crystal by my old VP who brought our negotiation team a bag of these crystals for us to each pick one and channel serenity.  Says a lot about how that team was jelling right?  That she thought we needed these.  I grabbed three pieces.  One is still in my purse, another is in my bedroom... I believe the third is on my vanity.  I wanted this magic crystal to give me all the positive juju I could find.  Now I have a 16" tower on my office desk.  It's almost like I've got the Bat Signal of positive energy forces...  Recently I added 4 sea glass stones with "Faith, Serenity, Breathe, and Dream" written on them.  After the candle is lit, I look at those stones, choose the one I need to focus on for that day and place it next to my laptop as I open it up.  Picking it up and holding it as needed throughout the day.  Doing so reminds me to stop and breathe... focus on calm... on joy... on me.  Breathe out the bad, breathe in the good.  Repeat.

"Set peace as your highest goal and organize your life around it." -Brian Tracy

I'm a Libra.  I need my scales to balance in order for me to find harmony.  If there's a problem, I will spin it around in my head until I find the answer.  I won't rest until it's fixed or wrapped up in a shiny bow and I can let it go.  Some days life's problems just feel insurmountable.  When I have a week or two where I'm feeling that way, I pull out a ring a friend gave to me over a decade ago.  It says "unbreakable".  A reminder to self that I am bad ass.  That I have climbed mountains and survived things that would have broken other people.  I am the phoenix, and I will rise.  The shizzle you are trying to put me through will pass, and your place within my world is miniscule.  I will not give rent in my head to your trauma.  No drama llamas allowed.

Outside of work I used to always find peace in my garden.  There's something to be said for having your hands on the earth, removing the weeds, and making it easier for mother nature's beauty to shine.  I haven't had much time to really spend in my garden this past year.  Work and family have taken so much of that time away from me.  This is the first year since I moved to MoonCrest that I haven't harvested my blackberries or mulberries.  I need to finally design my front garden.  It's been a holding pit of flowers I want to transplant once I have the design in mind.  I think I need to make that a priority on my to do list.  That said, in June I'm working 3 weekends... so... maybe July?  Or maybe I just figure out what I want to do, order bulbs to arrive in Fall, call this year a loss and make Spring of 2024 the time my garden begins to look like I'm the Master Gardener that I am.  Despite my lack of effort, I have two gladiolas that are blooming in my back yard.  I have no idea how they even got there lol.  Beauty rises where you least expect it.

One of the things I have been doing... making a point of doing for the last two weeks... is getting outside after work.  I've been sitting on my porch swing reading a book, watching cars go by, spying on a bluebird feeding its babies in my magnolia tree.  I'm in such good spirits when I go back inside.  That me time - whether it's 15 minutes or an hour, has been amazing on my psyche.  The last couple of days I've improved that inner peace by walking by the lake every night.  What is it with water that is instant Zen?  I could sit there and watch the lapping lake for hours... but my bestie that is walking with me, would probably push me in it.  I really need to pull out my kayaks and get ON that water.

"She is at a place in her life where peace is her priority and negativity cannot exist" - unknown

After mom passed, I spent a month pondering this need for inner peace.  Each day I'm looking at the events of the day and looking at what served me peace and what stole it from me.  It's a balancing act between taking care of myself by enjoying the down times and taking care of my home so things don't get too piled up.  As I write this now (blogging feeds my soul), I'm staring at the dinner dishes and thinking they need to be put away.  Life pushes and pulls; I adjust as I go.  The slogan of this journey I am on... 

"Inner Peace, Serenity or Bust"

#choosejoy